Dark Times
by I'm-not-ok
Summary: Dark times are looming now that Robin is Slade's son. Together they will rule.


A/N: I own nothing. Not the characters or anything.

PROLOGUE

Gotham City. A city shrouded in secrets. The last glare of the purple sunset began to evanesce behind the looming silhouette of the mighty mountain. Dark ebony filled the sky as Night began its rule over Day. No stars glittered in the night sky as the world plunged into shadows. No mortals were foolish enough to leave the safety of their houses on this night. Tonight was a night of sin; tonight it was creatures of unimaginable horror that roamed the world to do as they pleased. Running havoc and mayhem in the world, destroying all that mankind had toiled to build. No light could be seen from mortal houses, only darkness. All humans warmly curled up in their beds. Never realising what was going on just outside.

Drunken revelry had begun outside. Electricity sparkled in the air joining them together. They were of kin, brothers. Nosferatu and Lychens hugged each other. Bitter feuds and bloodshed far behind them. Buried in the past. This was a time of celebration, not bloodshed. The legend had begun. Soon, so soon, it would be fulfilled. This was not the ages of the mortals anymore. Now it was time for the age of the Horrors that filled the world. Goodness and Light would soon be dead and those that had been imprisoned by them would be free. Horrors that had once believed to be stories would be set upon the world that had classified them as myth.

High above in the towering gothic style buildings the gargoyles watched the party below. Their shoulders hunched and their faces grotesquely deformed. Noses, fingers and some arms were missing due to acid rain that the pollution produced. They stood watch over their building. Protecting it from the demons that roamed the streets. But one gargoyle was different from the rest. Instead of being carved from stone with a sickening grey colour that was turning black from the pollution, this gargoyle had an odd pinkish colour and a heartbeat; this 'Gargoyle' began to stir. Though no foolish mortal would are to leave their homes he was left outside. There was a mission to accomplish. Though the rest of the world rested their eyes, unprepared for the days, months, years ahead. He had known. Had prepared himself. Long ago he had been called a superhero, a vigilante. Sworn to protect the world and the imprudent humans that ruled it. He had come across the legend many years ago. At first he had been wary, wondering whether it had been a trick. He had cast it away from his mind. Never thinking of it again. Until a few months before. Nine in fact. And tonight was the night. The signs were in place. If he wanted to save the world, which he dearly loved, then he had to work quickly, he thought before jumping off the hundred-story building.

Once the moon was high in the sky did all the creatures of darkness to face their all-powerful leader. Some had waited for centuries for this night, others newer to this dark world had only heard of this extraordinary legend recently. All waited with baited breath for the sign. In the distance a bell tolling the coming of the witching hour could be heard disrupting the fearful silence that hung in the air. As the last toll resonated from the bell, the moon erupted in blood red light bathing the creatures in its ethereal beauty. The moon high in His perch looked down at His loyal subjects. Their faces turned up basking in His light. Their eyes half lidded in euphoria. They all wore identical smiles of content. They all looked as if they were revelling in the warm afterglow of post coital joining.

All at once the revelry began again. The sound of celebration could be heard around the globe. But none could be more celebrated than in Gotham City. All around, the sound of bottles being broken and the occasional racket of a Personal Party reaching its peak filled the air. The legend was being fulfilled. The Dark Lord had a child.

_A few minutes before_

In an abandoned warehouse in the heart of Gotham city a game of cat and mouse was well underway. But this game held the fate of humanity in its palm.

"_Come out Arella. Come out and live" called out a rough sounding voice. A monster, rather a henchman of the God of Night stood silhouetted against the doorway of the warehouse. He gestured behind him before entering, looking around him for any sign of movement. _

"_I know you're here, I can smell your fear," he heard a scuttle to the right of him, he gestured to another henchman and the he proceeded to fire a ball of fire in that direction, obliterating the crate. Nothing was behind it. He surveyed around him once again, his eyes focused right in front of him and gestured to the other henchmen to surround the stack of crates._

_In front of him the woman named Arella crouched hidden behind the stacked crates. She was young and pretty, but strong willed and intelligent. Her hair cascaded down her waist. This, she had realised was a bad idea. His henchmen always tugged her hair when trying to capture her. She didn't know how she had come into this situation but she had. And there was no way she would go back._

_Her heart thumped against her ribcage. It was so loud, she was sure he could hear it. She cringed and ground her teeth together as another wave of contractions slammed into her body. She closed her eyes hoping that this act would cancel out the pain she felt. Sweat covered her brow in her exertion._

"_You have already made a commitment Arella. You cannot back out now. You are carrying His Great Majesty's Child" the lead henchman called once again._

_They had been trailing her for a half-hour, she was tired and she couldn't ignore the contractions any longer. She was young and healthy but she couldn't take this anymore. She opened her eyes and prepared to run but what she saw as she turned around chilled her bones. Twenty or so of His henchmen surrounded her. There was no way she was getting out alive. _

"_Hello Arella," The leader called. _

_She had never liked him. In fact she had never liked any of them. This particular man's name was Mod. Before he was once a normal guy had a home and a family never breaking any laws, always paid his taxes on time. But became insane after witnessing the death of his wife and two children. He swore to avenge their deaths. And he did after killing a hundred or so innocent people in the process. He was obviously caught and was sentenced but The Henchmen of Trigon broke him out of prison to help Trigon on his quest. He hence became as Mad Mod. He was an old withered man who in his youth had been nothing better. But he had climbed up the ranks to become of Trigons most trusted. Most of the other henchmen were all brawn. Mad Mod was cunning; he had no strength of his own but had the intelligence to lead. _

_He was a slimy bastard, they all were. _

_Arella had been trying to get away from Trigon from the moment she was captured but to no avail, until now. After her rape she had wanted to kill herself. Hating herself and the child for what had happened to her. But the men would not let her. After a while she grew to love the child. She giggled when it kicked against her stomach. She loved the little girl growing in her and they would never take her away from her. Her little baby girl would not be used for his evil plot._

"_Arella, Arella. You knew you could not get away. Come back to Him… or die." Around her the men contracted, trapping her in a semi circle with her back against the crate. She closed her eyes. She had no hope for herself, but she didn't want to see what they were going to do to her. She heard a thump. 'Was she dead? Was that thump her body hitting the ground?' She asked herself but when she opened her eyes she saw it was not so. Around her she saw the men surrounding her fight with a black shadow. And she saw that the black shadow was winning. She couldn't place the black shadow, was he friend or foe? She didn't stick around to find out she ran around the crates heading to doorway and to freedom. _

_The cold night air struck her face like a slap. She didn't know where she was heading but she knew she had to get away. She knew it was not safe to be out that night but it was a risk she was willing to take. Her legs pounded on the uneven concrete ground. The thought of her baby girl urged her forward until she could run no more. She stood to catch her breath in an alleyway. Hr mouths dry, her heart pounding. So tired was she that she didn't notice the figure approaching her from behind. _

_A touch on her shoulder sent her swirling around to meet the black shadow once more. _

"_Who are you? Stay back! Stay back I say!" Panic rose in her. She was so close to getting away. Why did this have to happen?_

"_Do not worry. I am not here to hurt you. I have come to help. I know about the prophecy. My name is Batman. You need to trust me."_

"_And why should AHHHHHHH!" she screamed as another contraction hit her. Much stronger than the rest._

"_You're going into labour. I have somewhere we can go." Stated the mysterious Batman. He grabbed a hold of her and led her out of the alleyway and into the street where a car stood waiting for them. _

"_Are you crazy?" She asked in spite of her pain. "I'm not going in that!" Indeed the car **did** look pretty unsafe. It was a sports car that looked very fast and probably was too. _

"_Look lady!" said Batman rather exasperated, "You can either get in the car or walk." He opened the door and gestured. She conceded defeat and climbed in. _

_She didn't even remember the ride to wherever they went. All she felt was the pain of the contractions hitting her petite body. Blood had started to draw from the cut on her palm from squeezing so hard. Soon enough she felt the car stopping. She looked out of the window to find she was in a cave of some sort. She had no time to dwell as another contraction hit. They were getting closer together. The door opened and she struggled to get out of the car. Her legs failed her and she nearly dropped to the ground if it wasn't for Batman sweeping his around her legs and carrying her bridal style to an operation table._

_She looked in amazement, "Do you need this often?" She asked between gasps._

_He just grunted in return. She was placed on the table. She could feel her trousers and panties being removed hastily. She even heard something rip._

"_Careful" she tried to croak, but it fell on deaf ears._

"_Sir," a voice murmured beside her she looked and saw a man she had not noticed until now, "the baby is coming now."_

"Did you get that?" Batman inquired, "When I tell you to push, push, alright? 

_She nodded and_ _tilted her head back and found that she could see the moon from a hole in the ceiling. Distantly she heard the word "push." She brought herself back and started pushing. The pain was unbearable. It felt as if the she was being pulled at a hundred different places all at once. But it was soon over and finally her baby girl came sliding out. The baby was wrapped in a blanket and placed in her mothers' arms._

"_Raven." She whispered. Tears streaming down her cheeks, "My baby girl Raven." _

_Overhead the moon filtered in washing the quartet in a blood red glow._

In Jump City 

In the daylight this street would be happy, light. Families lined this street, always filled with joy. But what a difference the night makes. Everything was black, covered in a shroud of darkness. No animals dared leave their burrows that night. They knew what was going on outside. Only the humans didn't. They continued with their lives as if nothing was wrong. Sure they had noticed the unusual moon cycle. But it was brushed away. It was just a coincidence that there has been a full moon in the past month. Wasn't it?

"Fools" a metallic sounding voice called. The sound echoed in the deserted street, reverberating back to the owner. "When will these mortals ever learn? Nothing is ever coincidental. Why am I cursed to live among the vermin?" The monotonous voice called once again.

Footsteps could be heard heading to a house. Not a special house. It looked like every other in the street. The figure stepped closer and closer. The occupants unaware of the danger approaching their abode. In the blink of an eye the figure had disappeared. Leaving no trace of his appearance in the very ordinary street. The figure was inside the house, creeping along the shadows. It stopped at the master bedroom. Slowly it turned the doorknob and entered. It could see the lumps on the bed, hidden by shadows. He unsheathed his sword and in one fluid moment drove it into one figure. But something was wrong; instead of blood on his sword there was feathers floating in the air following his violent attack.

"No!" He exclaimed. He turned in time to see the fluttering of a robe go around the open doorway. He was unconcerned; they could not escape from him. They had nowhere to go. Keeping his sword in his hand loosely he started walking out of the door.

"Mortals. Foolish mortals. You cannot hide from me so why try? If you come out now I shall spare your lives."

It got no reply. It started to walk around a corner only to feel a blinding pain in the back of his skull. Slowly he felt around and touched the cold metal axe that stuck out of it. It chuckled menacingly languidly turning to face the man that dared strike it. It smiled.

"Idiotic man. Do you think that this could stop me? I AM GOD OF THE NIGHT! I HAVE FACED MANY WORTHY OPPONENTS AND YOU ARE NOT ONE OF THEM!" It roared to the terrified man's face.

It's eyes glowed in a dark light and focused on the man. The man's eyes were filled with fear. That was what it wanted to see. He gripped his sword and sheathed his sword in the man's abdomen. The man gasped in surprise before crumpling to the floor.

"You cannot win human."

The man continued to gasp like a fish out of water. He could see his vision blurring. He could taste the copper accumulating in his mouth. Pain wracked his body. He wouldn't be long for the world.

'Be safe,' he thought before slipping into the warm grips of death.

A smirk adorned the face of the figure. He loved the hunt, the fight and the best of all, the kill. 'Another to go,' he thought to himself. He pulled the axe out of his skull, and threw it into the farthest wall. It spun in midair before imbedding itself into a wall. A few seconds of silence then a loud thump could be heard. Before imbedding into the wall the axe caught the neck of a fleeing woman. Her head still lay perched on top of the axe, an expression of surprise on her face. A loud wail filled the air. The figure walked towards the source of the noise. It stopped before a baby aged only five months old. The baby was still tucked safely around its mothers arms.

" You should always keep your promises woman. Otherwise your son or rather **my** son will grow up with no morals." Said the figure to the long dead woman.

The figure bent down and caught the collar of the baby. It hoisted the baby up to eye level. The baby screamed louder due to the rough handling.

"Now you are mine baby Grayson," the figure smirked once again. The prophecy was beginning. 'It won't be long brother,' he thought.

The figure was and the baby were bathed in blood red light coming in through the window before disappearing into the night.


End file.
